Blog Wars Episode 5: Top 5 Ladder/TLC Matches in Wrestling History

Welcome to the 5th episode of Blog Wars. This week The Hit Man will defend against The_Crippler. So let's see the list

Top 5 Ladder/TLC Matches

In honor of TLC the contestants will pick the best Ladder or TLC matches in history based on what they think is important.

The_Crippler

PLEASE READ
I Know that the Hardys, E&C and Dudleys had 3 amazing TLC matches but in this Blog im only gonna include 1. same goes for every match on here, I'm not gonna include 2 matches with the same people on this list. Such as HBK vs Razor Ramon in WM10 and SummerSlam 95. I will include one of there matches and the TLC matches between Hardys, Dudleys and E&C are so close in quality im gonna only choose one. so lets get to the List.

5. Rock vs HHH SummerSlam 1998 IC title
This match was The Rocks Comming out party.... When a Wrestler has a successful run with the Intercontinental Championship, The WWF/WWE gives them a opportunity to show they belong in the Main events and Contend for the World title by losing the Intercontinental Championship to the number one contender in a History making match. Few superstars get this opportunity and fewer succeed. very few such as Randy Savage (Ricky Steamboat WM 3), Bret Hart (Bulldog SS92), Shawn Michaels (WM10 ladder match Razor Ramon) and The man who probably became the biggest star out of all these men "The Rock" in this very match.... this match is over looked cause of there Awesome 2000 feud but the Nation vs DX feud was a intense feud that made both the Rock and HHH, who are now legends.

The match it self was the finsih of the long standing faction blood war between The Nation and DX. It had intensity, Sports entertainment elements and it has history.... This match still holds up as one of the best singles ladder matches and it is 13 years old.

4. Wrestlemania 21 Money in the Bank
This match gets over looked cause Wrestlemania 21 is remembered Cena and Batista being elevated to legit main eventers and become the 2 men to carry the company and the legendary Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels match. but for me this is the match of the night.

This match doesnt get the Respect it deserves, This is by far the best MITB match and one of the greatest ladder matches I ever seen... No Money in the Bank since has been able to duplicate the talent involved (Jericho, Christian, Chris Benoit, Edge, Shelton Benjamin, and Kane) in the first MITB. a Must See. Benoits selling in this match is top Notch

3. Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho RR 2001 Ladder match, IC Championship
This is my favorite Ladder match, It had a realism that non of the other ladder matches had, It wasnt guys obviuosly setting up spots. This was a hard hitting, in your face, Intense Brawl that was off the charts.

If you havent seen this match recently, PLEASE WATCH.

2. TLC Wrestlemania 17
This was for the Tag Team Championship. It was a rematch from WM16 the year before and SummerSlam 2000.... People call this a spotfest but what people dont understand this is The Best Spotfest you will ever see. There is sureal moment afet moment in this match... Sure its a little dated now but WOW this match will blow you away. The Edge Spear off the ladder to Jeff hardy was a Great moment... To me this was the best of the bunch, not much better than summerslam but in my eyes slightly better cause it is Wrestlemania and a few spots that came together really well makes this my favorite of the 3 TLC matches with these men.

1. Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon Wrestlemania 10
I know its cliche to pick this match but Honestly this is the standered for a ladder match. it had alot of psycolgy in this match. Michaels was the inovator, if the first Ladder match in WWF happened with another man in it besides Michaels then they would be no MITB, No TLC and No Ladder match cause it would of failed. It was a gutsy performance by both men in this match and being almost 17 years old and still is a awesome match by todays standereds, That you have to give credit to.

Some great spots in this one with both men crashing through a table. Hardy reversing Punk’s GTS into a sunset flip off the ladder to CM Punk superplexing Hardy onto the ladder. Towards the end of the match, the spot that defined the match came. Hardy’s 20ft Swanton Bomb through Punk and the announce table. This match was the culmination of a very personal fued which blurred the lines of reality and script. The ending to this match captured the essence of this whole fued. It turned out that Hardy’s ‘Living for the Moment’ cost him the match and his World Heavyweight Championship as Punk was the man who recovered from the Swantom quicker and grabbed the title for the victory.

For me this is the greatest one on one Ladder/TLC match. You have the greatest competitor in TLC matches, Edge against the man who has competed in every match possible apart from TLC, The Undertaker. Not only was this match for the World Heavyweight Championship but Taker’s career was on the line so a certain emotional aspect was added to this already intense fued. The match started off evenly with both men falling off the ladder and tasting another ladder placed on the turnbuckle. Taker delivered a chokeslam onto the ladder outside to give him the advantage. Ryder and Hawkins both received chokeslams through tables for their interference. The first great spot of the match occurred when Edge took a Last Ride off the ladder and through 2 stacked up tables. The coast seemed clear for Taker but further interference gave Edge enough time to recover and push Taker off the ladder, crashing through 4 tables for the second great spot and to finish off the match.

This was the first instalment of the trilogy and was the catalyst to the incarnation of the TLC Match. After all the ladder spots, the Dudleyz were left standing and out came the tables! Devon and Matt were the first to go though the tables but the best was yet to come. Out came a gigantic ladder and the rest is history. Voted the most iconic moment in Wrestlemania history by WWE.com viewers, the world witnessed Jeff take a death defying Swantom through Bubba and the table. The ending to this match is perfect. Matt is only a second away from grabbing the titles but Edge comes from behind and pushes him off the tables perched upon the two ladders through another table, leaving E&C to stand on the table as the victors of the Ladder Match that all other Ladder Matches aspire to be.

This was the first ever TLC Match and it did not disappoint! This was the teams’ second match together and they capitalised on the success of their previous encounter. The beauty of this match was that each team had their own speciality of weapon in the match. There was more crashing through tables and chair swinging than ever before. The first casualty was Jeff as Bubba was able to dodge the Swantom off the ladder, sending Jeff through 2 tables. Bubba was next as he took the biggest bump, going through 4 tables! Matt looked good for the win until Devon sent him backwards off the ladder and into another 2 tables. Jeff and Devon dangled above the ring with both men eventually dropping to the ground, allowing E&C to get their second win against the Dudleyz and Hardyz.

Very rarely is the sequel better than the original but TLC was an exception. Voted by IGN as the fifth best WrestleMania and PWI’s 2001 match of the year, it’s clear to see why this match is top of my list. A great spot half way through the match is when all 6 men are on top of 3 ladders and eventually all 6 men are sent crashing to the ground. A whole rivalry illustrated in one moment! The inclusion of the teams’ associates gave depth to the story these teams told. Among all of the spots that took place, 3 stood out. Jeff’s Swantom on Spike and Rhyno, Edge’s spear on Jeff and Matt and Bubba crashing through the 4 tables. Again E&C won the match but at the end of the day, all 3 teams succeeded in cementing their legacies not only as great tag teams but pioneers of the TLC Match. If I had to show one match to a non wrestling fan, this would be the one. I tried my best to only include one of these matches but the trilogy of matches these 3 teams gave us are head and shoulders above any other Ladder/TLC Match we have ever seen.

Comments

I didn't say much here because I went above the character limit by a little bit but, after episode 6 I will start a king of the ring edition of blog wars and I will have 8 people compete. Anyone can do it the champ is guaranteed to be in it and I have 6 spots open